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Abstract:

An improved Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector apparatus is provided.
In one embodiment, the USB connector apparatus comprises a top wall; a
bottom wall having one or two openings; two side walls; an internal
cavity with a rectangular cross section enclosed by the top wall, the
bottom wall and the two side walls; a gasket disposed within the internal
cavity; and a first connecting piece made of a conductive material and
positioned at the one or more openings of the bottom wall and at least
partially covering the one or more openings of the bottom wall, wherein
the top wall, bottom wall, two side walls, internal cavity and gasket are
configured to comply with a USB interface standard. The USB connector
apparatus ensures that a bottom wall elastic sheet of the USB socket
effectively contacts with the bottom wall of the USB connector, thereby
providing higher grounding performance. Further, it improves on the
conventional USB connector without much additional cost.

Claims:

1. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector apparatus, comprising: a top
wall; a bottom wall having one or two openings; two side walls; an
internal cavity with a rectangular cross section enclosed by the top
wall, the bottom wall and the two side walls; a gasket disposed within
the internal cavity; and a first connecting piece made of a conductive
material and positioned at the one or more openings of the bottom wall
and at least partially covering the one or more openings of the bottom
wall, wherein the top wall, bottom wall, two side walls, internal cavity
and gasket are configured to comply with a USB interface standard.

2. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the top wall
has one or more openings; the USB connector apparatus further comprising
a second connecting piece located at the one or more openings of the top
wall and at least partially covering the one or more openings of the top
wall.

3. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening
of the bottom wall runs through the bottom wall, and the first connecting
piece is a metal piece, the shape of the metal piece adapts to the shape
of the opening of the bottom wall so that the metal piece is embedded
into the opening of the bottom wall, and a side wall of the metal piece
is fixed to a side wall of the opening of the bottom wall so that the
metal piece covers the opening of the bottom wall.

4. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening
of the bottom wall does not run through the bottom wall, and the first
connecting piece is a recess of an outer surface of the bottom wall.

5. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening
of the bottom wall runs through the bottom wall, the first connecting
piece is a metal piece, and the area of the metal piece is larger than
the area of the opening of the bottom wall; the metal piece is fixed at
the bottom of the gasket, and the location of the metal piece adapts to
the opening so that the metal piece covers the opening of the bottom
wall.

6. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector apparatus, comprising: a top
wall having one or two openings; a bottom wall; two side walls; an
internal cavity with a rectangular cross section enclosed by the top
wall, the bottom wall and the two side walls; a gasket disposed within
the internal cavity; and a first connecting piece made of a conductive
material and positioned at the one or more openings of the top wall and
at least partially covering the one or more openings of the top wall,
wherein the top wall, bottom wall, two side walls, internal cavity and
gasket are configured to comply with a USB interface standard.

7. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the bottom
wall has one or more openings; the USB connector apparatus further
comprising a connecting piece located at the one or more openings of the
bottom wall and at least partially covering the one or more openings of
the bottom wall.

8. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the opening
of the top wall runs through the top wall, the connecting piece located
at the openings of the top wall is a metal piece, and the shape of the
metal piece adapts to the shape of the opening of the top wall so that
the metal piece is embedded into the opening of the top wall, and a side
wall of the metal piece is fixed to a side wall of the opening of the top
wall so that the metal piece covers the opening of the top wall.

9. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the opening
of the top wall does not run through the top wall, and the connecting
piece located at the openings of the top wall is a recess of an outer
surface of the top wall.

10. The USB connector apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the opening
of the top wall runs through the top wall, the connecting piece located
in the opening of the top wall is a metal piece, the area of the metal
piece is larger than the area of the opening of the top wall, and the
location of the metal piece adapts to the opening so that the metal piece
covers the opening of the top wall.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation of International Application No.
PCT/CN2011/073037, filed on Apr. 20, 2011, which claims priority to
Chinese Patent Application No. 201020170362.2, filed on Apr. 20, 2010,
and entitled "USB PLUG, USB CONNECTING STRUCTURE, AND WIRELESS TERMINAL",
both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Embodiments of the present relate to the field of communications
technologies, and in particular, to an improved USB plug.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface is a common connecting
interface. A conventional USB connecting structure includes a USB socket
and a USB plug. The USB plug is inserted into the USB socket when being
used, so that an external device is in electrical conduction with a
computer to transmit data or supply power to the external device. The USB
socket is also called a USB female socket; and the USB plug is also
called a USB male connector. The structure of the USB socket is usually
as that shown in FIG. 1, and the structure of the USB plug is usually as
that shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 1, the USB socket includes an interface 101 with a
rectangular cross section formed by a top wall, a bottom wall and two
side walls, and has one opening for the USB plug to insert into. As shown
in FIG. 1, two top wall elastic sheets 102 are disposed at the top wall;
two bottom wall elastic sheets 103 are also disposed at the bottom wall,
and one side wall elastic sheet 104 is also disposed at each of the two
side walls. As shown in FIG. 1, a card 105 is disposed at the opening of
the USB socket, a preset distance exists between the periphery of the
card 105 and four walls of the interface, and a metal connecting sheet
(not shown in the figure) is disposed at a side of the card 105 that fits
the USB plug.

[0005] As shown in FIG. 2, the USB plug includes a frame body with a
rectangular cross section formed by a top wall, a bottom wall and two
side walls 202, and has one opening to insert into the USB socket as
shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, two openings 212 are
disposed at the top wall of the interface of the USB plug, and two
openings are disposed the bottom wall. As shown in FIG. 4, the openings
212 run through the top wall, the openings disposed at the bottom wall
run through the bottom wall, and they adapt to the locations of the top
wall elastic sheets 102 and the bottom wall elastic sheets 103 as shown
in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a gasket 203 is disposed in the USB plug.
A bottom surface of the gasket 203 contacts with the bottom wall, a
preset distance exists between a top surface of the gasket 203 and the
top wall, and a metal connecting sheet 204 is disposed at the top surface
of the gasket 203.

[0006] In this way, when the USB plug inserts into the USB socket, the
card of the USB socket inserts between the gasket of the USB plug and the
top wall so that the metal connecting sheet of the bottom surface of the
card contacts with and is in conduction with the metal connecting sheet
of the top surface of the gasket, so as to realize data transmission or
power supply. The top wall elastic sheets of the USB socket are engaged
into two openings of the top wall of the USB plug; and two bottom wall
elastic sheets are engaged into two openings of the bottom wall of the
USB plug, so as to realize grounding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Embodiments of the present invention address a problem in
conventional USB plugs, specifically that when a USB plug is inserted
into a USB socket, the bottom wall elastic sheets of the USB socket
cannot effectively contact a bottom wall of the USB plug, thereby
resulting in reduced electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance of
the associated USB device, especially if the device is a wireless
terminal.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention provides a USB connector
apparatus, which includes: a top wall; a bottom wall having one or more
openings; two side walls; an internal cavity with a rectangular cross
section enclosed by the top wall, the bottom wall and the two side walls;
a gasket disposed within the internal cavity; and a first connecting
piece made of a conductive material and positioned at the one or more
openings of the bottom wall and at least partially covering the one or
more openings of the bottom wall, wherein the top wall, bottom wall, two
side walls, internal cavity and gasket are configured to comply with a
USB interface standard.

[0009] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a USB
connector apparatus, which includes: a top wall having one or more
openings; a bottom wall; two side walls; an internal cavity with a
rectangular cross section enclosed by the top wall, the bottom wall and
the two side walls; a gasket disposed within the internal cavity; and a
first connecting piece made of a conductive material and positioned at
the one or more openings of the top wall and at least partially covering
the one or more openings of the top wall, wherein the top wall, bottom
wall, two side walls, internal cavity and gasket are configured to comply
with a USB interface standard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] To illustrate the technical solutions according to the embodiments
of the present invention more clearly, the accompanying drawings for
describing the embodiments are introduced briefly in the following.
Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description are
only some embodiments of the present invention, and persons of ordinary
skill in the art can derive other drawings from the accompanying drawings
without creative efforts.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic three-dimensional structural diagram of a
conventional USB plug;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a bottom view of the
USB plug shown in FIG. 2;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional structural diagram of the USB
plug shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a USB plug in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional structural diagram illustrating a
connecting piece in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;

[0017]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional structural diagram illustrating a
connecting piece in accordance with another embodiment of the present
invention; and

[0018]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional structural diagram illustrating a
connecting piece in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present
invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the
present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention are
described in detail in the following with reference to the accompanying
drawings.

[0020] A conventional USB plug is shown in FIG. 4, a gasket 203 is
disposed at an internal cavity of the interface, a bottom of the gasket
203 contacts with the bottom wall, and a preset distance exists between a
top of the gasket and the top wall. When no connecting piece exists in
the conventional art, the bottom wall elastic sheet passes through the
opening 222 disposed at the bottom wall to directly contact with the
gasket 203 shown in FIG. 4, so that the bottom wall elastic sheet cannot
contact with or be in electrical conduction with the bottom wall, and the
grounding performance is poor.

[0021] Because the gasket of an internal cavity of the USB plug contacts
with the bottom wall of the interface of the USB plug, the bottom wall
elastic sheets of the USB socket are affected by the gasket of the USB
plug when the USB plug inserts into the USB socket. As a result, the
bottom wall elastic sheets of the USB socket cannot enter the openings of
the bottom wall of the USB plug as being squeezed by the gasket, and the
bottom wall elastic sheets of the USB socket cannot contact with the
bottom wall of the USB plug.

[0022] For a wireless device, grounding affects the wireless performance
greatly. Therefore, the bottom wall elastic sheets of the USB socket in
the existing USB plug and the USB connecting structure cannot contact
with the bottom wall of the USB plug, which may reduce the performance of
EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) of the wireless device.

[0023] The following embodiments of the present invention address the
above-described problem. At the same time, the structure of these
embodiments may be conveniently obtained through modification of a
conventional USB plug without much additional cost.

Embodiment 1

[0024] Embodiment 1 of the present invention provides a USB plug. As shown
in FIG. 5, the USB plug has an interface, where the interface includes a
top wall 11, a bottom wall 12, and two side walls 13. As shown in FIG. 6,
and FIG. 7, the bottom wall 12 has one or more openings 121. The
interface also includes a connecting piece, the connecting piece is
located at the openings 121 of the bottom wall 12, the connecting piece
covers the opening 121 and is connected to the bottom wall 12, and the
connecting piece is made of conductive material.

[0025] Embodiment 1 of the present invention provides a USB plug, by
disposing a connecting piece at the openings of the bottom wall of the
USB plug, when the USB plug is connected to a USB socket, a bottom wall
elastic sheet of the USB socket may contact with the connecting piece.
The connecting piece is in electrical conduction with the bottom wall, so
it may be ensured that the bottom wall elastic sheet contacts with the
connecting piece, and therefore the bottom wall elastic sheet is
conduction with the bottom wall, and the grounding performance is
ensured.

Embodiment 2

[0026] Embodiment 2 of the present invention provides a USB plug, which is
obtained through improvement on the basis of Embodiment 1. Not only a
bottom wall may adopt the structure of the connecting piece, but also a
top wall may adopt the structure, thereby further ensuring the
reliability of grounding. As shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, on the
basis of Embodiment 1, one or more openings 111 are added on a top wall
111, a connecting piece may also be disposed at the openings 111, and the
connecting piece covers the opening 111 and is in electrical conduction
with the top wall 11.

[0027] The connecting piece of the top wall and the bottom wall may be of
multiple structures, and the bottom wall is taken as an example:

[0028] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the opening 121 runs through the
bottom wall 12, the connecting piece is a metal piece 122 adapting to the
shape of the opening 121 shown in FIG. 6, and the periphery of the metal
piece 122 is fixedly connected to and in electrical conduction with the
bottom wall 12. The shape of the metal piece 122 adapts to the shape of
the opening 121 so that the metal piece 122 is embedded into the opening
121, and a side wall of the metal piece 122 is fixed to a side wall of
the opening of the bottom wall 121 so that the opening is covered by the
metal piece. Because the bottom wall 12 has certain thickness, the side
wall of the metal piece 122 and the side wall of the bottom wall 12 may
be welded or fixed together in other manners, so that they are in
electrical conduction with each other. This structure may be conveniently
obtained by modification on the basis of the prior USB plug, and may be
obtained without modifying the prior manufacture equipment in a large
scale. The metal piece 122 may be a metal sheet with certain thickness,
and may also be a metal sheet that may be bent to form one side wall.
Similarly, a metal piece 112 may be disposed in the opening 111 located
in the top wall 11.

[0029] For another example, as shown in FIG. 7, the connecting piece may
be a recess of an outer surface of the bottom wall 12. The opening 121
does not run through the bottom wall 12. The bottom wall 12 has certain
thickness, so a recess may be formed on the outer surface of the bottom
wall 12, and the thickness of the recess is smaller than the thickness of
the bottom wall 12. The recess may be used as the connecting piece. This
structure may have a good connection effect, and further improve the
reliability of grounding. The recess of the outer surface of the bottom
wall 12 may be integrally formed when making the USB plug.

[0030] For another example, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening 121 runs
through the bottom wall 12. As shown in FIG. 8, the connecting piece may
be a metal piece 124, and the area of the metal piece 124 is larger than
the area of the opening 121 shown in FIG. 6. The metal piece 124 is
disposed at the bottom of the gasket 14, and the location of the metal
piece adapts to the opening 121. The location of the metal piece 124
adapts to the location of the opening 121, in this way, when the gasket
14 and the bottom wall 12 are being assembled, the metal piece 124 can
cover the opening 121. The area of the metal piece 124 is larger than the
area of opening 121, so the metal piece 124 can contact with and be in
electrical conduction with the bottom wall 12. The metal piece 124 may be
fixed on the bottom wall 12 in a way, such as by welding, and the metal
piece 124 may be tightly pressed against the bottom wall 12 through the
gasket 14. Similarly, a metal piece 114 may be disposed in the opening
111 located in the top wall 11.

[0031] The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.
This structure may be conveniently obtained by modification on the basis
of the prior USB plug, and may be obtained without modifying the prior
manufacture equipment in a large scale. The metal piece 124 may be a
metal sheet with certain thickness, and may also be a thin metal sheet.

[0032] Certainly, the foregoing connecting pieces are only examples taken
for description of the embodiment of the present invention, and the
embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. The
connecting piece in the embodiment of the present invention may also be
in other forms, for example, may be a metal bump on the bottom surface of
the gasket 14, and the metal bump may cover the opening 121. The metal
bump is connected to the bottom wall 12.

[0033] Persons skilled in the art should understand that, the forgoing
methods and variations of the methods can all implement the function of
the connecting piece in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and the
structures should fall within the protection scope of the present
invention.

[0034] At the same time, in the embodiment of the present invention, as
shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, the top wall 11 has one or more
openings 111, and the connecting piece may also be set to cover the
opening 111. The connecting piece on the top wall may also be any one or
multiple structures shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8. At the same
time, the top wall and the bottom wall each may adopt any one or multiple
structures of the foregoing three methods, or other structures, and the
embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Embodiment 3

[0035] Embodiment 3 of the present invention provides a USB connecting
structure which includes a USB socket shown in FIG. 1. The USB socket has
a socket interface 101, where the socket interface 101 includes a top
wall, a bottom wall and two side walls, one or more bottom wall elastic
sheets 103 are disposed at the bottom wall. The USB connecting structure
also includes a USB plug. As shown in FIG. 5, the USB plug has an
interface 1, where the interface 1 includes a top wall 11, a bottom wall
12, and two side walls 13. As shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7, the
bottom wall 12 has one or more openings 121. The interface also includes
a connecting piece, the connecting piece covers the opening 121 and is
connected to the bottom wall 12, and the connecting piece is made of
conductive material.

[0036] Embodiment 3 of the present invention provides a USB plug, by
disposing a connecting piece at an opening of a bottom wall of the USB
plug, in this way, when the USB plug is connected to a USB socket, the
bottom wall elastic sheet of the USB socket may contact with the
connecting piece. The connecting piece is in electrical conduction with
the bottom wall, so it may be ensured that the bottom wall elastic sheet
contacts with the connecting piece, and therefore the bottom wall elastic
sheet is in conduction with the bottom wall, and the grounding
performance is ensured. A prior USB plug is shown in FIG. 4, a gasket 203
is disposed at an internal cavity of the interface, a bottom of the
gasket 203 contacts with the bottom wall, and a preset distance exists
between a top of the gasket and the top wall. When no connecting piece
exists in the conventional art, the bottom wall elastic sheet passes
through an opening 222 to directly contact with the gasket 203 shown in
FIG. 4, so that the bottom wall elastic sheet cannot contact with or be
in electrical conduction with the bottom wall, and the grounding
performance is poor. Embodiment 3 of the present invention solves the
problem, and at the same time, this structure may be conveniently
obtained through improvement on the basis of the prior USB plug without
much additional cost.

Embodiment 4

[0037] Embodiment 4 of the present invention provides a USB connecting
structure, which is obtained through improvement on the basis of
Embodiment 3. Not only a bottom wall may adopt the structure of the
connecting piece, but also a top wall may adopt the structure, thereby
further ensuring the reliability of grounding. As shown in FIG. 6, FIG.
7, and FIG. 8, one or more openings 111 exist on the top wall 11, a
connecting piece may also be disposed at the openings 111, and the
connecting piece covers the opening 111 and is in electrical conduction
with the top wall 11.

[0038] The connecting piece of the top wall and the bottom wall may be of
multiple structures, and the bottom wall is taken as an example:

[0039] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the opening 121 runs through the
bottom wall 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the connecting piece is a metal piece
122 adapting to the shape of the opening 121 shown in FIG. 6, and the
periphery of the metal piece 122 is fixedly connected to and in
electrical conduction with the bottom wall 12. The shape of the metal
piece 122 adapts to the shape of the opening 121 so that the metal piece
122 is embedded into the opening 121, and a side wall of the metal piece
122 is fixed to a side wall of the opening of the bottom wall 121 so that
the metal piece covers the opening. Because the bottom wall 12 has
certain thickness, the side wall of the metal piece 122 and the side wall
of the bottom wall 12 may be welded or fixed together in other manners,
so that they are in electrical conduction with each other. This structure
may be conveniently obtained by modification on the basis of the prior
USB plug, and may be obtained without modifying the prior manufacture
equipment in a large scale. The metal piece 122 may be a metal sheet with
certain thickness, and may also be a metal sheet that may be bent to form
a side wall.

[0040] For another example, as shown in FIG. 7, the connecting piece may
be a recess of an outer surface of the bottom wall 12. The opening 121
does not run through the bottom wall 12. Because the bottom wall 12 has
certain thickness, a recess may be formed on the outer surface of the
bottom wall 12, and the thickness of the recess is smaller than the
thickness of the bottom wall 12. The recess may be used as the connecting
piece. This structure may have a good connection effect, and further
improve the reliability of grounding.

[0041] For another example, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening 121 runs
through the bottom wall 12. As shown in FIG. 8, the connecting piece may
be a metal piece 124, and the area of the metal piece 124 is larger than
the area of the opening 121 shown in FIG. 6. The metal piece 124 is
disposed at the bottom of the gasket 14, and the location of the metal
piece adapts to the opening 121. The location of the metal piece 124
adapts to the location of the opening 121, in this way, when the gasket
14 and the bottom wall 12 are being assembled, the metal piece 124 can
cover the opening 121. The area of the metal piece 124 is larger than the
area of opening 121, so the metal piece 124 can contact with and be in
electrical conduction with the bottom wall 12. The metal piece 124 may be
fixed on the bottom wall 12 in a way, such as by welding, and the metal
piece 124 may be tightly pressed against the bottom wall 12 through the
gasket 14.

[0042] The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.
This structure may be conveniently obtained by modification on the basis
of conventional USB plug, and may be obtained without modifying the prior
manufacture equipment in a large scale. The metal piece 124 may be a
metal sheet with certain thickness, and may also be a thin metal sheet.

[0043] Certainly, the foregoing connecting pieces are only examples taken
for description of the embodiment of the present invention, and the
embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. The
connecting piece in the embodiment of the present invention may also be
in other forms, for example, may be a metal bump on the bottom surface of
the gasket 14, and the metal bump may cover the opening 121. The metal
bump is connected to the bottom wall 12. Persons skilled in the art
should understand that, the forgoing methods and variations of the
methods can all implement the function of the connecting piece in
Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and the structures should fall
within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0044] At the same time, in the embodiment of the present invention, as
shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, the top wall 11 has one or more
openings 111, and the connecting piece may also be set to cover the
opening 111. The connecting piece on the top wall may also be any one or
multiple structures shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8. At the same
time, the top wall and the bottom wall each may adopt any one or multiple
structures of the foregoing three methods, or other structures, and the
embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0045] It may be seen from the foregoing embodiments that embodiments of
the present invention provide a USB plug by disposing a connecting piece
at the opening of the bottom wall of the USB plug, and in this way, when
the USB plug is connected to the USB socket, the bottom wall elastic
sheet of the USB socket may contact with the connecting piece. The
connecting piece is in electrical conduction with the bottom wall, so the
problem that the bottom wall elastic sheet may contact with the gasket
when being connected so that the bottom wall elastic sheet cannot contact
with the bottom wall may be addressed. At the same time, this structure
may be conveniently obtained through improvement of a conventional USB
plug without much additional cost.

[0046] The above descriptions are merely exemplary embodiments of the
present invention, but are not intended to limit the present invention.
Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made without
departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention should
fall within the protection scope of the present invention.